Foggie Holloway Funeral Home

Feb. 1, 2019You could say that Gordon R. Schroeder was born to bake.The oldest son of Rudolph Schroeder, who founded his bakery in 1928, Gordon Schroeder went to college in Cortland to become a physical education teacher, and worked in a school for one year.But the appeal of the family business was too strong. "I think he did it for the family, because my grandfather needed help," said Mr. Schroeder's daughter, Kathleen Harris.When the youngest of his four brothers joined the bakery in 1958, the sweet situation drew the attention of Hubert Holloway, who wrote a "Notes and Quotes" column for the Buffalo Evening News."While it is not unusual to see Buffalo sons follow in their father's footsteps, there must be some sort of record in the five brothers who assist their father at the Schroeder Baker, 212 Forest Ave.," he wrote. "They are known as the five baker brothers."Mr. Schroeder, 92, of Getzville, died Feb. 1, 2019, after a short stay in the Schofield Residence in the Town of Tonawanda.He was born in Buffalo, the first child of Rudolph Sr. and Caroline Haag Schroeder. His siblings were Donald, James, Rudolph Jr., Robert and Carole. The family lived upstairs over the bakery."They all baked, at one time or another," said Kathleen Harris.He attended McKinley High School and shortly after turning 17 in February 1943, Mr. Schroeder joined the Marine Corps. His postings in the Pacific theater included the New Hebrides, St. Matthias Islands, Mindanao, the Philippines and the Northern Solomon Islands. He was discharged on Dec. 18, 1945, with the rank of private first class.As a young man, Mr. Schroeder was an accomplished bowler. It was on the lanes that he met Betty McKinstry, who would become his wife in 1954 in Buffalo. They raised their five children on East Hazeltine Avenue in Kenmore.After Mr. Schroeder's father, Rudolph Schroeder Sr., died on Jan. 20, 1961, the brothers became partners in owning and operating the bakery on Forest Avenue. They renamed it Schroeder's Cosmopolitan Bakery and began to expand. At its height, the ...